Here is how to STOP Advanta. First, understand that they don't bother following the law. Second, understand that they really have no power over you other than harrassment and dinging your credit if you don't pay. The wost they can legally do is send you threatening calls and letters and finally do a charge off on the debt on your credit if you don't cave in to their tactics. If you're finally in a postion where your credit score is no longer an issue you can worry about (you're just trying to survive and letting some bills go unpaid), include them in the unpaid stack. They will send you a couple of letters and then send their phone dogs after you. They are not supposed to call you more than twice a day at the most because that is considered harrassment. Legally you can send any creditor a certified letter to instruct them to no longer contact you by phone. (Do a search for an example.) The law is clear. They must abide by that. However, Advanta will insist that it doesn't apply to them but only to third party collectors and since they are the account owner they can ignore it. Interestingly, all other lenders in primary position DO honor the law and stop calling. You could go through all kind of hassles to compalin to the State Attorney General, but it won't do any good. They'll keep calling. Now's the time to take matters into you own hands and fight fire with fire. This is what I did. I have caller ID. When I noticed it was Advanta, I began by not answering. When the calls reached 3 or 4 times a day, I opened the phone line and let it sit. Sometimes I opened the phone line and smacked the microphone against the table top rapidly several times to explode the callers ear. Sometimes I flushed the toilet and put the phone near the water so they could hear the flush. I considered it all a game. After all, I wasn't working and couldn't pay them. My credit was shot anyway. They continued, but changed to a different line that listed a phone number but no name. These I began answering. I sent the letter to them and when I got the return receipt I told the caller about it. They insisted it didn't apply to them. I asked to speak to a supervisor. He said the same thing. I asked nicely to stop calling and he insisted they would until deadbeats like me paid our bills. I decided ti fight fire with fire. The next time they called I answered and hung up as soon as I knew who it was. Now I had their phone number. I I hit return dial and got one of their callers. I proceeded to tell them all about how they had just called me and I was returning the favor. I asked to speak to a supervisor and got handed up. I didn't discuss anything, I just told him the same thing and said goodbye. Now the fun began. I redialed and went through the same thing again - over and over and over again. They proceed each answering with a statement of the call being recorded. So what? It's not illegal to call them. Just be pleasent and don't swear. If you get flustered, just hang up and call again. Each time I asked to speak to a supervisor. They started by passing me up. However, after about 6 calls they tried to block me by asking me my account number, address, name, etc. I told them it was a personal matter and they only needed my name which I gave them. After about 15 calls I began getting the same people over again. A couple of times they hung up on me, but remember their recording is showing me being pleasant while they are being rude and hanging up. That only happened a few times. They finally began to immediately passed me up to the senior supervisor, Ed McFadden. He's good. He'll wait quietly until you begin to speak and them begin immediately cutting you off, telling you how much of a jerk you are, asking for their money, anything to try to keep you from getting a word in edgewise. His job is to get you mad. Keep smiling. You're winning. It didn't matter. I just kept telling him I was returning their calls as they had originally asked and would continue since I wasn't working and had nothing better to do than play games on my computer while calling them. I let him know I would continue to keep this up until they finally stopped calling me. Of course he insisted that it didn't bother him or his work and I was wasting my time. By the way, this conversation took over 10 calls to complete because as soon as I said one line and he jumped in I nicely said. "Goodbye." and hung up. He tried to tell me all about how I was going to lose my house, bank accounts, have wages garnished, etc. I called his bluff because I know he can't do any of those things. He threatened to send it on to their attorneys. I applauded him and asked him to please do it. That would stop the calls. He backed off saying he had to follow protocol. I laughed at him on that one. Interestingly, this activity took about 1 hour which I viewed as a game instead of irritation. I was "returning the favor" of calling them. That was last week. I don't know why, but I haven't had my phone ring from them in over a week. Can anyone please tell me how I can get them to start their friendly calls again. I feel left out and unloved! Sincerely, MIserable and along waiting for a call.